Secrets and Aftermaths
by LeoLeonte
Summary: This is a sequel. Don't read, if you haven't read Secrets and Divine Diplomacy. I have a lot more characters, than the ones listed. Zeus has fallen, and Olympus is a mess. At the same time, truths that were long since buried, are starting to surface. Making things right will take time, and where some wounds heal with time, others only get worse.
1. Chapter 1

**So, here is the sequel to 'Secrets and Divine Diplomacy' If you haven't read that first one, this fic, won't make sense, at all. I'm still going over some of the smaller details on 'Secrets and Divine Diplomacy', but nothing, that has any consequences for the entirety of the story. I hope you will enjoy it, and let me know, what you think!**

 _It was one of those nights. It was raining lightly, the kind of treacherous rain, that looks mild, but would soak you in minutes in reality._

 _An old man was walking down the street of a quiet, upper middle class suburban neighborhood. The strange thing about him, was that he wasn't getting wet at all._

 _He was wearing strange clothes, robes even, and a long, purple cloak. He had a long silver, pointed beard, and high heeled boots._

 _He was odd, even by the standard of the people he normally surrounded himself with. He could be called quirky or eccentric, but mostly benign. A man like him, could not have any friends. Only followers. It was a sacrifice he had to make, even if it wasn't a hard one. People trusted him, of course, but he could only trust them to a certain point. It was in their best interest, really._

 _This was only the first out of two stops he had to make that evening. He had received a tip on the location of an infant, which he had been looking for._

 _He walked through the small gate, and followed the path, through a charming garden, and up the small steps to the front door. Lights were pouring out of the windows._

 _He rang the doorbell, and waited patiently._

 _A tired looking middle-aged man, opened the door._

" _Can I help you?"_

" _Ah, yes. I heard you recently adopted a small girl."_

" _Yes. Excuse me, sir, not to be rude, but what is it to you? I don't know you." The man said, carefully._

" _I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Granger. May I come in?"_

 _Mr. Granger eyed the stranger with the suspicion, but opened the door up anyways, in a silent invitation._

" _Thank you very much."_

 _It wasn't until the older man was standing in the hall, the door closed behind him, that Mr. Granger noticed his strange clothing. He heard the old man mutter something that sounded like "Imperio", but he didn't have time to reflect upon it. He was washed over, with the most delightful feeling. He felt weightless, and without a care in the world._

" _Now, Mr. Granger. Could you please show me the way to your wife?"_

" _Yes sir! Of course! This way" Mr. Granger led the stranger through the house to the living room, where his wife was sitting on the sofa, with their newly adopted daughter in her arms._

" _Now, Mr. and Mrs. Granger. I'm terribly sorry, but this is for your own good." The stranger said gently_

 _Mrs. Granger held her daughter closer, and looked panicked at her husband, who was standing next to the stranger, his eyes glazed._

" _Wh-what are you going to do to us?" She stammered, her voice trembling, as she held her daughter even tighter._

" _Oh, don't worry. It won't hurt a bit. I have done this many times before, after all." He smiled eerily at her._

 _Mrs. Granger wanted to escape this lunatic, but she had no exit. She was cornered._

" _Obliviate" He whispered, erasing their minds. Instead he planted new, happy memories. Finding out she was pregnant, the long wait, giving birth. The camera, that was tragically lost. He left the small family sleeping on the sofa._

 _He was grateful, that the couple had no immediate family. That way, he didn't have to track down a hundred family members to alter more memories._

 _He went through the house, removing adoption papers, and looking for other traces, that the girl might not be theirs, entirely. He came to the nursery, where the wall was painted in light pastel colors, the name "Hermione", written in swirling letters on the wall. She could keep the name, he supposed. After all, not many knew it. Only Sirius, and he couldn't do much damage, from where he was going._

 _He would have to set up some wards, to warn him, if the mutt came, to track the girl down, before being captured._

…

For most of those, who hadn't been at Ogygia, everything had seemed rather anticlimactic.

It had been three weeks, since Apollo had delivered Nico, Hermione and Zeus, all unconscious. He had then gone to Olympus to take the throne in his father's place. No one had heard from him since.

Neither of the three had woken up yet, much to the frustration of everyone else.

Annabeth, with some magical help, had almost finished with her project – a new wing for the large house. It was necessary too. The guest wing, was completely full. Zeus had been locked in a room of his own. No one knew, what kind of condition he would be in, once he woke up, or to which extent he still had his powers. Apollo had been rather uninformative.

Will was still in a coma, in a room of the guest wing, and Draco, who was still looking for a cure, was staying in the room next to his. He was working day and night, except for Tuesdays and Thursdays, where he would disappear through the fireplace, for a couple of hours, only to return with a smile on his face, and a new surge of energy. There were bets going on, whether he had a girlfriend in England.

Harry had moved back to Grimmauld Place. He had told them, that he would keep them a secret for as long as he could. Problem was, that time was running out.

…

"I still don't get it." Ron said lowly, scrunching his eyebrows together.

"Not this again!" Harry rolled his eyes. He had invited his friend over for butterbeers. Since Ginny had gone to Quidditch practice, he figured they could relax a little, be more best friends again.

"No, it just doesn't make sense! You're telling me, that Hermione has some bloke on the side-"

"It's not on the side, when you're not together." Harry interjected.

"Whatever, mate. But you're telling me, that not only is she with some bloke, she is also staying there? Indefinitely?"

"Yes, Ron! She's really happy in America."

"So you say, but how come you're the only one who gets to visit her?"

"I can try to ask-"

"But more than that – what about her parents? Why would she just leave her parents? And for some bloke? I mean, aside from the fact that she's supposed to be with me – that just isn't like her!"

Harry sat, biting his lower lip. Regardless of everything else, he couldn't keep lying to his best friend.

He sighed heavily. "Ron, it's more than that. Hermione is – her parents aren't really her parents."

Ron looked like the personification of a question mark.

"Look, I didn't find out, until recently. Hermione is adopted. She apparently has a half-brother in America. Her mum was Marlene McKinnon."

Harry watched, as the words sunk in to his friend's skull, and the dawning understanding, that turned back into bewilderment.

"But then, who's the bloke? Is he the brother?"

Harry couldn't help, but chuckle.

"No. I've been told, he most definitely is not her brother. He's her boyfriend. They got together shortly after she went to America."

Ron looked crushed. Harry felt bad for hurting his friend's feelings, but in the end, giving him false hope was worse.

"Is that why she doesn't want to see me?" Ron whispered brokenly.

"No, mate, no. They, had some problems over there." Harry felt himself getting misty eyed. "It's not that she doesn't want to see you, it is, that she can't. It's extremely complicated, and I only understand half of it, but they needed her help. It was only her, that could do it, but something went wrong. Her and Nico, they saved the world, but something went wrong, and they haven't woken up since. That was three weeks ago." He finished, tears now dripping down his cheeks.

Ron stared at him, breaking even more. "She's been in a coma for three weeks, and you didn't tell me?" He hissed, his jaw tensing, giving away the feeling of betrayal.

"I didn't know what to tell you. It was all so complicated." Harry buried his head in his hands.

Ron sat back, nodding his head.

"I need to leave." He said, as he stood up.

"I'm sorry – "

"Stop, Harry. I need to think about this. I'll find you, when I'm ready, alright?"

Harry nodded, and Ron left, through the front door, much calmer than Harry had thought him capable of.

…

Her head was pounding. The mother of all migraines was dancing mambo in her head, and the curtains weren't closed properly. A small annoying sliver of light fell directly on her face. She supposed, that was the reason she woke up. Her mouth was dry and sticky, probably smelly too. There was a glass with water, standing on the bedside table. She tried to reach out for it, but all her limbs felt heavy and out of order. She only succeeded in knocking the glass over, making it shatter with a loud smash.

She heard footsteps moving towards the room she was in. She tried turning around, but found, that she couldn't, because of a warm body, still sleeping next to her.

The door opened, and a curly haired girl was standing in the opening.

"Hazel" Hermione tried to say, but it only came out as a broken whisper.

"Shhh, Hermione." Hazel mumbled, as she hurried to Hermione's side, to check on her. "I've got you."

Hermione nodded dumbly. She cast a glance in Nico's direction, in a silent question for his status.

Hazel shook her head. "Not yet. But I think he will wake up soon." She told her with a gentle smile. "Now, you rest a little more, and I will prepare some nectar for you, for the next time you wake up.

Hermione wanted to protest, but her eyes were already closing, without permission.

 **Please leave a review! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

The next time Hermione woke, the headache seemed a little less. Piper was already sitting in a chair near the bed.

"Good morning beautiful" She smiled at her.

Hermione snorted "Now that, I know is a lie." She responded groggily. "How long have I been out?"

"For this stretch, about ten hours. Before that, three weeks."

Hermione's eyes widened. "And Nico? Did he wake up, while I was asleep?"

Piper sighed. "No. Not yet, but we're hoping it will be soon."

Hermione hesitated "… and Zeus?"

"Nope. He's still asleep. As far as we can tell, there's nothing actually wrong with him. It's like he's on standby or something."

Hermione looked pensive. "He's probably in a sort of magical sleep."

"I'm just glad for that. We have no idea, how he's going to react. Jason is sitting in there most of the time..." Piper trailed off.

"How is he taking it?" Hermione asked carefully.

"He was a mess, at first. He and Percy had that fight, and after that, he got on board with the whole 'making Zeus mortal-thing.' It's still hard on him though. He learned some truths, that no one wants to hear about their father. Mainly about what he did to Nico's mom."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully.

"I'm going to get you some nectar. Hang tight." Piper said, getting up.

Hermione tried to sit up some more, but it took a lot of effort. Her body still felt heavy. She sat for a while, looking at Nico, who was still asleep, stroking his hair. When she looked up, Percy was in the doorway, with a gentle smile on his face.

"Hey kiddo. Did you have a nice nap?"

Hermione gave him a deadpan look. Percy rolled his eyes.

"All right. How do you feel?"

"I would say 'like hell', but I actually like that place." Hermione groaned, making Percy chuckle.

"Just take it easy, okay? We were all scared for you."

"I don't think I can do much else, than 'take it easy.' I can barely lift my own head" She gave him a wry smile.

"Good!" He smirked. He ruffled her hair, and took off laughing maniacally, before she could grab him.

"Not fair! I'll get my revenge, water boy!" she yelled after him.

Nico groaned a string of colorful curse words next to her. "Must you scream like a banshee?" He moaned, throwing his arm limply across his face.

Hermione snorted "Sorry about that, drama queen."

He stuck his tongue out at her "So. Did it work?" He asked her carefully.

She slapped his arm. "You could have killed yourself!" She hissed.

"If I hadn't done that, you would have died, I couldn't live with that, and I regret nothing. But did it at least work?"

"Yes. It worked." She grumbled, hitting his arm again.

"Would you stop that? You're so violent!"

"You like it, when I'm violent."

"Well, yeah, but not towards me!"

Their banter was interrupted by a throat clearing.

"I see, that you are awake, and well." Piper smirked at Nico.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah? What gave you that impression?" he snarked, making Piper raise an eyebrow, and Hermione hit him again.

"I apologize for him. He's not exactly a morning person?"

"Really? I hadn't realized" Piper smirked. "I got you some nectar." She set a glass down on the bedside table. "I'll just get one for the little Angel over there."

Nico scowled at her, as she turned back out into the hall.

"Really, Nico? Really?" Hermione hissed.

He sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I know. I'll apologize, when she gets back, alright?" He grumbled.

…

Jason was sitting in his father's room. That would never get any less awkward. His dad was no older than himself, and he was lying right in front of him. He felt bad about it, but he wasn't looking forward to his father waking up. He was bound to be furious, and they didn't know how much of his power he had retained. They had agreed to keep someone in the room with him at all times, and Leo had installed surveillance cameras. Jason worried that it might not be enough, which was why he volunteered for most of the shifts. He knew he should help more around the camp, but he felt like staying with his father was his responsibility, foremost. Besides, if his father could still zap people, he could take it better than the others.

His brooding was interrupted by a careful knock on the door frame. He looked up, to see Piper standing in the door way, smiling gently at him.

"How is it going?"

"No change. I'm starting to wonder if he will ever wake up." He drew his eyebrows together. That's not what he wanted either. Sure, he dreaded his father's anger, but he still wanted him to wake up, even if he wasn't looking forward to it.

"Hermione and Nico are awake. She thinks Zeus might need a magical alarm clock or something like that."

"A magical alarm clock?" He lifted a skeptical eyebrow.

"Yeah, you know. He's in a magical sleep, so he needs a magical alarm clock."

Jason gave his girlfriend a crooked smile.

"I love you. Did you know?" And he really did. Without her support, he might have left the camp in embarrassment after his little tantrum at the Empire State Building.

"I might have an idea" She winked at him. He stood up to give her a kiss, that he was happy his dad was asleep for. It wasn't the kind of kiss, that one would do in public.

"Let's get out of here. We'll get someone else on guard duty. I think you need to see the sun."

Jason nodded in agreement. He really could use some fresh air.

"Speaking of the sun; how is Will?"

Piper sighed. "He's still the same, but Draco says he might be on the verge on a breakthrough."

"So. Fingers crossed?" "Yep. Fingers crossed."

…

A loud clang reverberated in the room, when Draco threw his third attempt at a potion to cure Will, at the wall. He was right on the verge of finding the cure, but there was something missing. The potion would work on a wizard, but he needed a binding agent if he wanted it to work on a demigod. It was beyond frustrating. For the past three weeks, he had dedicated all his time to find a cure. Aside from telling his mother to cooperate fully, when Harry would come to interview her about Avery, he had all but abandoned his post. Some auror he was. He was lucky Harry hadn't reported him to Kingsley, or maybe he had. Either way, it didn't really matter. He was on his own mission.

He let out a frustrated scream, as he went back to his notes.

"Are you quite finished?" Calypso asked him, with a lifted eyebrow. She was standing in the other end of their lab, hanging some of her herbs to dry.

"No. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. It's not the dosage, it's not the ingredients. There's something missing! I need something to bind the cure to the magical core of a demigod, but I have no clue where to start! I need to ask Apollo, but is he here? No!" He ranted, as Calypso listened patiently.

"He probably can't come down here. I imagine he's busy with Olympus. We haven't heard from _any_ of the gods. It must be chaos up there." She told him.

"I know. I'm just worried. He's getting weaker by the day."

"Is it really that bad?"

He sighed "We still have time, but it's not a lot."

Calypso nodded thoughtfully. "I think it's time for a break, Draco. You need to go outside for some air. Or at least get out of the lab. You're driving yourself crazy. Did you even sleep last night?"

Draco rubbed a hand across his face. "A bit, but I really feel like I'm on the verge of a breakthrough here."

"And you're not going to reach that breakthrough on coffee and sleep deprivation. You're taking a break, even if I have to chase you out of the lab myself. Besides, I think your friend, Hermione is awake."

"Fine" He huffed "Just let me go check on Will first, okay?"

She smiled slyly at him. "Sure, go ahead."

He rolled his eyes at her, as he walked through the door. They had made a potions lab, connected to Leo's workshop. He waved at Leo as he left, heading up towards the main house. Walking through the house, he was reflecting upon the past few weeks. He was surprised at how much he was enjoying it. No one knew him here, so there was no fear of reverence to receive from these people. Here he was just Draco, the British guy, who happened to do magic. In a very short time, this had somehow become 'home'. Much more than Malfoy Manor was in any case. He still went home twice a week to visit his mum, always Tuesday and Thursday and he always made time to visit little Ivy at the orphanage he had gone to for information about Hermione's adoption.

He smiled, thinking about the little undercover witch. Ivy was a treasure. She was like a little hurricane, completely uncontrollable, but she was also very sweet and curious, especially about magic. He told her everything he could, about owls and wands and Hogwarts. Last time he was there, he had given her a copy of "The Tales of Beedle the Bard". He had specifically instructed her _not_ to read "The Warlock's Hairy Heart", which meant he would probably get scolded by Rose next time he visited.

When he reached Will's room, he hesitated before opening the door. He always felt slightly awkward going in there. Not because he was unconscious or anything. He had visited Nico, Hermione and Zeus without problems, but going into Will's room, made him sweat for some reason. He went in, closing the door behind him. He stood for a while, just staring at the blonde young man, laying on the bed.

By now, he had heard many stories about Will Solace. How he was the best healer of all the children of Apollo, how he had fought in the two wars, how many people he had saved. How he used to date Nico, and had recently had his heart broken by the little shit, Avery. He had paid a personal visit to Avery himself, and he couldn't say he was impressed. Draco generally disliked it, but in some circles, the Malfoy name could still intimidate, and the Avery family was one of those circles. Saying his name and showing his dark mark, was enough to make the guy look like he was about to puke.

When he was younger, he would have reveled in the effect it brought, but not anymore. He would use it, if needed, but he wanted to do something he could be proud of, and he would start by helping Will Solace.

"We haven't been formally introduced, but I'm Draco Malfoy, and I'm going to heal you, if it's the last thing I do." He told the sleeping man, as he started to measure his vitals.

 **So, the updates are going to be a bit slower on this one. I unfortunately have to take care of that life I have. I'll still strive to update often, just not every day.**

 **Please leave a review :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Harry Potter's life had gotten very complicated. It had always been complicated, but this was getting ridiculous.

First of all, he had a big dilemma. Catching Avery was proving harder than they thought. Their only lead was his nephew Joseph, and he wasn't talking. He really wanted to pump the guy full of veritaserum, but for that, he would need authorization from the Wizengamot, who also needed to witness the interrogation. Unfortunately, that also meant risking the exposure of the demigods, so he needed to consult Reyna first, and that girl scared the crap out of him.

Even if he did get authorization from both sides it still wasn't guaranteed, that it would even work. The guy was a demigod, and not just any demigod. He was the son of the god of communication and trickery, which could really mess things up for them. He firmly believed they needed to take that chance though.

Secondly, his best friend wasn't talking to him, and his other best friend was in a coma. He still had Ginny but it wasn't the same, which in turn was completely unfair towards her. She was never bitter though, which was just a testament to how great a girl she was. Unfortunately, these last few weeks had started to take their toll on their relationship. He didn't know how much he could tell her, but he knew she could tell, something was bothering him.

He was just about to go through the fireplace to the House of Ten, when the fireplace roared to life and the object of his thoughts walked out.

"Whoa!" She exclaimed, as they crashed into each other. They managed to stay upright though – sitting on a broomstick hundreds of feet in the air is great for training balance.

Harry grinned at his girlfriend. "Where are you going?" She asked him, making him uncomfortable. He sighed and plopped down in the sofa.

"It's a longer story. I told you Hermione is in America with her family, right? It's a little more complicated than that."

"I don't get it. How so?" She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion

He told her the entire story, how they had thought the worst, when Hermione was lost, how she got word to them and the mission they had undertaken.

"… And she isn't waking up. I was heading over there to check up on them. That's another thing – Draco Malfoy is over there, working on a cure for a guy, who took over the curse on Hermione's arm."

He watched as Ginny's expressions changed throughout his explanations, ranging from confusion to concern to anger.

"Draco Malfoy? You have Draco bloody Malfoy working close to an unconscious Hermione? Are you insane?"

"Look, he's actually a pretty good guy, and Hermione trusted him. He's actually been working hard on finding a cure, _and_ he was the one to find the best intel on Hermione's mother, _and_ he is giving us leads on the remaining Death Eaters." Harry defended. "I know it's probably hard to accept, but he's a good guy."

"Is that why my brother won't speak to you?"

Harry groaned "No. I didn't get to tell him that part yet. I didn't even get to tell him the entire story about Hermione."

"You really have a death wish, don't you?" Ginny chuckled.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Do you want to come with me?"

…

"So, are you two done with your beauty sleep?" Draco asked, as he finally entered Nico and Hermione's room. The two had been bickering as usual, this time about Nico's morning moodiness.

"Draco!" Hermione smiled, looking up.

"How are you feeling, you guys?" he asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Amazing." Nico deadpanned, earning himself an elbow in the abdomen.

"A bit tired, but the nectar is helping a lot. We've been ordered to stay in bed by Piper though, but only for today I think. We need to have a meeting about what to do about Zeus."

"Maybe throw him naked into the streets?" Nico suggested, earning him another elbow.

"I'm sure you'll come up with something" Draco smirked. At that moment, Piper entered the room, with Harry and Ginny in tow.

Draco stood. "Um, hi." He winced at his own awkwardness, and expected a verbal lashing from the youngest Weasley.

Ginny only raised an eyebrow. "This is so cheesy, but hi, my name is Ginny Weasley." She said, stretching her hand towards him. Draco shook it gratefully and she turned towards Hermione.

"You've really been holding out on me." She accused, pointing at Nico.

Hermione had the grace to look guilty. "I'm sorry, Gin. I couldn't tell you. You would have thought I was crazy."

"Well, to be honest, I'm still not totally convinced you aren't" Ginny winked at her "But you _are_ going to tell me _everything_."

"Of course, I am. Did you bring Ronald with you?" Hermione asked carefully.

Harry scratched the back of his head "No. He isn't really speaking to me. I told him about some of what has been going on, and he didn't take it so well. I suppose it's a lot to take in."

"Did you tell him about – " Draco gestured at himself, looking worried.

"No, not yet. I haven't gotten to that part with him."

"Good. Do you think you could do it on a Tuesday or a Thursday perhaps, when I'm not here? I don't fancy getting my head smashed in." Draco requested.

"Scared, Malfoy?" Harry smirked

"You wish" Draco laughed back.

Ginny stood, looking confused between the two former arch enemies. "How long has the bromancing been going on?" She asked Piper conspiratorially.

"Oh, haven't they always been like that?" Piper asked, making Hermione and Ginny both snort with laughter.

"They've hated each other with a passion since they were eleven" Hermione eventually replied.

"Are you sure about that?" Nico asked, lifting an eyebrow. Hermione looked at him incredulously, and hit him in the face with a pillow.

"Ow! Again, with the violence!"

Ginny grinned "And how long has _that_ been going on?" She asked Piper. Hermione took back the pillow she had used to hit Nico, and buried her head in it, embarrassed. Nico only smirked, leaning back against the headboard.

"Honestly, I think it's been going on forever. They just hadn't realized it until now. It's all so romantic" Piper sighed.

Nico rolled his eyes "Easy there, Pipes. Oh, I was supposed to apologize for being an ass by the way, so there, I'm sorry."

"But you're still going to be an ass, so what's the point?" she smirked.

"Then I also apologize in advance" He smiled at her innocently, getting hit in the face by a pillow again.

Leo strolled into the room, carrying two trays. "Hello ladies! I come bearing gifts. Tofu burgers, and they are amazing in my not so humble opinion."

"Great, I'm starving!" Hermione exclaimed.

"You must be Harry's girlfriend. I'm Leo. I would shake your hand, but then the burger would probably end up in your hair. Are you guys staying for dinner?"

Ginny looked confused. "Right, time difference, I forgot. I'm sorry, but I just had a huge breakfast, and I should really get going. I have practice. Maybe some other time?"

"You'll be welcome." Leo smiled at her.

"Are you coming, Harry?"

"No, I actually came to speak to Reyna. Is she around?" Harry asked no one in particular.

"She's probably at the principia." Piper told him. "Her and Frank have been working hard on helping the campers get home to Camp Half-blood. Zeus is mortal, so the threat is lessened and they can go home."

"Okay" He nodded. "Can you show me the way?"

Slowly, people trickled out of the room. Harry and Piper left to show Ginny back to the fireplace, and Draco went along with them.

Leo gave them the trays with the food and left the room with a "Bon appetite!" and a wink.

…

Harry gulped as he entered the principia. Not only was Reyna intimidating, but so was the place. His fear lessened slightly though, when he saw her snorting in laughter at Frank, who looked flustered as Hazel stood scowling at him.

"Sorry, to interrupt, but can I talk with you guys for a moment?"

"Yeah, sure" Rayna said, regaining her composure with the speed of light. "What's it about?"

Harry sighed, plopping down in a chair "I think I told you before, that Avery has had contact to a known war criminal from the wizarding world, right? The thing is, that I kind of need him. We have a potion, a truth serum if you will, that I would like to use on him during an interrogation, but I need authorization from the court to do it. I imagine you would like to keep things separate, but I'm afraid that our two worlds are going to meet more and more, and if the Avery's had knowledge of your world, then you might face some threats from the wizarding world."

"What do you mean by threats?" Rayna wrinkled her brows at him.

"Joseph's uncle was a Death Eater, and they are vicious criminals. We just came out of a war, which they lost, but not all of them have been captured. Death Eater Avery is still out there somewhere, and if he has knowledge about New Rome, or about demigods, he and his friends might take interest. I would like to interrogate Joseph, to see which connections he had with his uncle, to see if he can lead us to him."

Rayna sat, for a long time, thinking.

"Can we meet with your minister first, and then make a decision about Joseph afterwards?" Frank broke the silence

"Yeah, of course. That was the idea, but if I could get permission to interrogate him, it would really help. Right now, he's the only lead we've got."

"Alright then." Reyna sighed. "Arrange a meeting. We'll be there."

 **Sorry for the wait. I won't give any spoilers :) No new chapters will be added to Divine Diplomacy, but I still want to make the first chapters better, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.**

 **Please leave a review for me :) You know they make me happy!**


	4. Chapter 4

Harry felt supremely awkward. He had brought Reyna to the Ministry of Magic to meet with Kingsley, and the beginning of the meeting went as he expected, with smiles and handshakes, but as soon as they sat down, he felt out of his league. Reyna and Kingsley sat, staring at each other, and where Harry might have thought a staring contest was childish in any other context, he felt trapped in a room with two lions sizing each other up, waiting for the other to break. Apparently power struggles are best fought in silence.

In the end, Kingsley was the one to break the silence

"So, miss Arellano –"

"Please, just Reyna." She interrupted him, and he gave her a small smile.

"Reyna, then. Has Harry filled you in on the procedure for the use of veritaserum?"

"Yes he has, but I was hoping we could come to an agreement, privately. We demigods value our privacy, and I'm sure you can relate, considering the fact, that I was dragged through a phone booth, to get here."

"Indeed. With that in mind, how many demigods know of our community?"

"Twelve people in total, and we intend to keep it that way. Normally all decisions would go through the Senate, but my fellow Praetor and I have agreed, that keeping this to ourselves is in the best interest of our people and yours, provided, that your Wizengamot is kept in the dark as well."

Kingsley sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"I cannot _officially_ approve of this of course, and I can't let you have any of the ministry stock, but I have heard, that a certain young man with an aptitude for potioneering, has taken residence with you. I might be able to help with some of the controlled ingredients, but that would be the extent of my help, I'm afraid."

"Thank you, Kingsley" Harry let out a breath of relief, that he didn't know he had been holding.

"Thank you, Minister, that is more than we would ask."

"This way, you also get to keep the prisoner. He is after all, one of yours. You should punish him as you see fit."

"Don't worry, we will. We don't take kindly to traitors." Reyna growled out the last part.

…

When they returned to the House of Ten, Harry felt ready to gouge out his own brain. Diplomacy really wasn't his forte, and being the go-between had been nerve wracking, especially since he was scared of one of the parties. Reyna had kept up the same stoic silence he had come to expect from her, throughout the entire trip, and it was more than a little unnerving.

All he wanted to do was to crash on a sofa for a couple of hours, but that was not to be.

"We need to call a meeting. It's way overdue, we'll meet in the dining room in an hour. Go tell the others, I'll go tell the ones at the workshop and the training grounds." Reyna told him. He sighed in surrender and went around the house, in search of the others.

When he reached Hermione and Nico's room, he knocked the door gently.

"Come in" Nico's muffled voice sounded from inside the room. When Harry entered, Nico was the only occupant in the room.

"She's in the bathroom" He clarified.

"Okay. That's not a bad thing, actually, it gives us a chance to talk."

Nico rolled his eyes. "The 'if you hurt her, I'll hurt you'-talk?"

Harry snorted and sat down on a chair next to the bed. "Nah. I'm sure she's quite capable of hurting you back herself. I just wanted to tell you to brace yourself. I realize, that you're not the most extroverted guy in the world, but Hermione's got a big family back home. Not just her parents, she's got another huge surrogate family, that you're going to have to deal with. You're going to have to be sociable for her sake, which includes Sunday dinners and such. Are you up for that?"

Nico glared at him "Of course I am. I can't change who I am, but I would do almost anything for her."

Harry nodded thoughtfully, and the two fell into a slightly awkward silence, which thankfully was broken, when Hermione entered the room, her hair still damp from her shower.

They both still looked a little worse for wear, but they were slowly recovering and were up and about, which was good.

"You're looking much better." Harry smiled at her. "We're having a meeting in the dining room in about forty-five minutes."

With that, he stood up and went to find the others.

Draco was checking up on Will, who was still unconscious, and Jason and Piper were sitting in Zeus' room. He found Percy and Annabeth in a compromising position, and reminded himself to always knock on the door to Annabeth's office, unless he wanted his eyes burned out.

As he finished his round, he found Rachel in the kitchen. She looked lost in thought, frowning at the sky out of the window.

"Did you hear we're having a meeting?" Harry asked, startling her.

"Oh! I didn't even hear you coming. Yeah, Reyna told me. I suppose we can't put it off any longer, even if Apollo isn't here." She still sounded far away, but her voice was coated with worry.

…

Most of the people looked glum, as they sat down around the table. Frank and Hazel were still wearing parts of their armor, and Leo was fiddling with a half-finished Archimedes Sphere.

"What was so important it couldn't wait till I was finished?" He grumbled.

"Leo, you're _never_ finished." Piper pointed out.

Reyna stood up and cleared her throat.

"I've called this meeting, because we really can't put it off any longer. Harry and I had a meeting today, with the Minister of magic. He has agreed to let us use the truth serum unofficially, which is good, but we have no way of obtaining it through their official channels. The minister told us, that you might be able to brew some for us instead?" She looked at Draco.

"Yeah sure, I just can't guarantee it will work though. I made cure for Will, but I'm having trouble finding an agent to make it stick to a demigod core, so to speak. I really need Apollo's help for this. I imagine it will be somewhat the same problem with the veritaserum. If a healing potion can't work, then odds are, that other potions are ineffective as well."

Reyna nodded. "That's what we feared. We need to do something though. Joseph has possibly had contact with this Death Eater relative of his, and it puts our community in danger."

"The protective spells should still hold" Hermione interjected.

"I know, and they are very good for the moment, but they pose a problem for our new campers. They can't find us, and we risk losing them to monsters outside our borders."

"Is there no way we can contact Apollo?" Percy asked.

"No, not if he is on Olympus." Rachel grumbled.

"I might have an idea. At Hogwarts there is an entire section for summoning charms and spells. Not like accio, but more like summoning a ghost or a spirit or something. I went through it one time, and there was this book, but I couldn't read it – I think it was in Greek. It might be nothing, but I think it's worth a try." Draco told the others.

Hermione looked at him, impressed. "Great! Who's up for a field trip?"

 **Hey guys. I'm sorry I'm so unstable with updating on this one. I'm going through some tough times, my mum is in the hospital these days, and things aren't looking great, which makes it hard to concentrate. I still love the story though and I'm going to continue, I'm just a little frustrated with myself.**

 **Please leave me a review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Draco was walking along the halls of his old school. He knew he probably wasn't welcome at his old school, but spending weeks away from the wizarding world had made him forget about the scathing looks people sent him, where ever he went.

He was thankful, that Professor McGonagall had given him permission to enter the castle, even if it had taken a lot of sweet talking.

He was also grudgingly impressed by Hermione's Slytherin capabilities.

She had sent a letter to the librarian, Madam Pince, asking to lend a couple of books. She had conveniently forgotten to tell, who was picking up the books until _after_ Madam Pince had agreed.

It wasn't until he reached the library doors and pushed them open, that he realized, how much he had missed the peaceful ambience between the bookcases. Hermione wasn't the only one for whom the library was a refuge. Being popular had its downsides and Pansy Parkinson was one of them, he used to hide from her in an alcove near Household Herbology, a place he knew she would never look.

He was walking slowly down the aisles, enjoying the musty scent of the books, until he came to the section on summonings. He browsed a little until he found the book he was looking for. It was a very old tome, bound in red leather and with greek, gold embossed letters. He just hoped it would work. He grabbed the book and continued down to the potions section, for a book on veritaserum and its variations, and walked down to the check-out, where Madam Pince was sitting, looking surly as ever. He put on his most charming smile.

"Hello, Madam Pince! Lovely to see you again." He tried

"Quite" the librarian scowled at him, and proceeded to check out his books in silence. It made him miss San Francisco, knowing that her scowl was probably the best-case scenario. He had been hit with dragon dung before, just after his trial, he would take Madam Pince's withering stare any day over that.

He thankfully got the books checked out with no problems, and left the castle without further hassle. When he reached Hogsmeade, he apparated straight to Grimmauld Place, and took the floo back to the House of Ten.

…

"Did you get it? Give it to me." Hermione was sitting on the edge of her seat on the sofa, waiting for Draco to step out of the fireplace.

"Gods, Hermione, your book fetish is getting out of hand" Draco rolled his eyes, but put the book carefully in her awaiting hands.

"It's beautiful" she whispered. Draco shook his head at her antics and plopped down next to her, studying his own potions book. They sat for a while in comfortable silence, which was only interrupted by the sound of pages turning.

"Yes!" Hermione yelled suddenly, making Draco jump.

"I found it!" she beamed at him.

Draco moved closer to have a look, having momentarily forgotten, that he couldn't read Greek.

"Well, what do we need to do, then?" he asked, sending the book a contemptuous look, that Hermione thought was very familiar on his face.

"Well, the spell is rather complicated, and it's general for summoning a god, but not a specific one. From what I understand, we need something that symbolizes the god we're trying to summon, like or grain for Demeter. I suppose we could use a hippogriff feather for Apollo."

"Hippogriff? Why does it have to be a hippogriff?" Draco moaned.

"What's a hippogriff?" Percy asked befuddled, as he entered the living room.

"It's a horrible beast, that can tear you limb from limb" Draco pitifully told his friend's older brother

"Oh, stop it. Buckbeak is nothing but a big sweetheart. A hippogriff is a mix between a horse and an eagle. They are proud creatures, and only an idiot would insult them. Isn't that right, Draco?"

Draco crossed his arms and leaned back against the backrest, sulking.

"Oh. I had an image of a winged hippo in my mind." Percy said absently.

"And that's one of the things one ought not to say in front of a hippogriff" Hermione smiled at him.

"Anyhow, there are loads of other ingredients, like wood from an olive tree, and –" She trailed off.

"And what, Hermione?" Draco asked.

"Um, blood from a child of the god we're trying to summon."

"Blood? That sounds an awful lot like dark magic" Draco said, carefully.

"Not necessarily. In the past, especially in ancient times, blood magic was actually extremely common." Hermione pointed out in her best lecture voice.

Draco sighed "We need to use some other child of Apollo though. I don't want to take any blood from Will, while he's still unconscious, and besides, his blood is changing due to the leukemia, I'm not sure it would even work."

"I don't feel entirely comfortable letting anyone else in on what we're doing, and I think the others will would agree with me." Percy pointed out.

"Well, we might not need to." Draco said pensively. "You have a hospital, yes?"

Percy nodded "The Valetudinarium"

Draco smirked "Do you ever make blood drives?"

…

"This sucks" Apollo moaned to himself. He really didn't envy his father these days. Every god, naiad, dryad and divine creature wanted a piece of him, on top of the small rebellions that he had to quell every other day. That and he also still had to take care of all his own divine duties. Apollo just wasn't made for hard work. Sure, he could do it, had in fact worked very hard recently, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He missed his son, but he was trapped on Olympus for the time being. He didn't know how, but Olympus had gone on lockdown, which was probably a good thing in the end. Aries hadn't taken very well to the change in authority. In the end, Aries was another son of Zeus, and he felt entitled to the throne. Aries felt like he, as the god of war, would be a better leader, and he did indeed lead most of the rebellions. Luckily, Apollo had some strong allies, but the situation was still very unstable.

Suddenly he felt a pulling sensation, which he hadn't felt in a very long time. He was being summoned, and by an ancient ritual too.

…

When Apollo opened his eyes, he was lying on the floor, surrounded by young familiar looking demigods. His face split into a huge smile.

"I cannot tell you, how happy I am to see you guys!" he exclaimed. That's when he saw the hippogriff.

"Oh, my, what a beauty you are!" He gracefully leapt to his feet, and bowed deeply. "Even gods must show respect to such a magnificent creature."

Buckbeak chirped happily and bowed his head before gleefully rubbing his beak against Apollo's cheek.

Even Hermione, who knew the hippogriff quite well, had to marvel at the creature's antics. Draco just looked on the verge of a conniption.

"Yes, well, magnificent creature aside, we need your help." He interrupted.

"Careful, Draco. Hippogriffs are very intelligent. They can also detect sarcasm" Apollo pointed out. Draco could have sworn, that the big chicken was scowling at him.

…

 **Hey guys, I'm sorry for the really long wait. I'll try to update a bit more often, but I make no promises. I have a lot of stuff going on these days. My mum was diagnosed with cancer a couple of weeks ago, and has started chemotherapy. She is rather weak, and I've had to take over cleaning her house, and cooking stuff to fill her freezer, since my stepfather's culinary skills barely reaches boiling pasta.**

 **See you around**

 **\- Leo**


	6. Chapter 6

Ivy thought herself to be a happy girl. She was six years old (almost seven, thank you very much). She knew that most people had pity for her, for living at an orphanage, she was smart like that. She hated the way they were looking at her though, like one would look at an injured bird or a sick puppy. She was satisfied with her life – she had a lot of friends, both at school and at the orphanage, she had people who loved her, like Rose and Maeve, and of course Draco, her friend, who stopped by every Tuesday and Thursday. He always told her the most amazing stories, about witches and wizards, dragons, unicorns and mermaids, but the greatest part was when he showed her magic. He made her hairbrush dance and her room cleaned itself, he even repaired her favourite doll, which Ricky Thompson had ripped apart.

She was magical too, but Draco had told her, that she couldn't use a wand until she went to Hogwarts. He still encouraged her to try to work on controlling her magic without a wand, and she had succeeded somewhat, either that, or Ricky Thompson had tripped all by himself, the next time she had seen him. She could also move smaller objects with her mind, and was working on making her room clean itself, just as Draco had done. He was proud of her, and told her so frequently

She knew, that Draco wanted to ask about her parents, but she was grateful he hadn't. She would rather not think about it, let alone talk about it. She only remembered bits and pieces, but none of the things she remembered were good. Instead she preferred to think about the stories Draco told her. She knew there was something important he wasn't telling her, but figured that it would come out eventually. She could be patient, sometimes. At the moment, her patience was running thin. It was Tuesday and it was getting late, but Draco hadn't showed up. She was sulking in her room, refusing to come down to dinner, unless Draco showed up. She was running scenarios in her head, thinking about what might have happened to him, when a beautiful shiny creature jumped through the wall. She looked at it in wonder as it jumped and leaped around the room, lighting it up and filling her with joy. She noticed it had the shape of an animal, but she couldn't tell which animal it was. It was furry and elongated, with an adorable triangular face and cute little ears. It opened its mouth to show small pointed teeth, and then it spoke.

"Hey little bug. I'm very sorry, but I'm not able to make it today. I hope you know, that I really wish I could be there, but something very important has come up, and I have to take care of it. You're probably wondering about this little guy – he is my Patronus, and he is made from pure happiness. One day, you might be able to make one too. I promise on my own grave, that I will come on Thursday, and I will bring you something magical. See you around."

The Patronus leapt another round around her room, before disappearing, leaving her with a cold and empty feeling. She knew it was true, when he said it was important though. She knew he was working on saving someone's life, and nothing could be more important than that. She just wished she could be there with him. She loved Rose and Maeve and the other kids, but she felt more and more at home around magic. It was only a question of time until Draco's displays weren't enough. She wanted to see the magical world, to visit Diagon Alley. In five short years, she would go to Hogwarts, but she wanted to learn as much as she could before. She would ask Draco for books next time he came. Fairy tales were great, but she wanted to learn more.

Her musings were interrupted by Rose

"Hello, Love. I'm sorry, but I don't think he's coming today." She said sympathetically as she sat down on the bed next to Ivy, not needing to ask, why the little girl wasn't down for dinner.

Ivy looked down to hide a secret smile. "It's okay. He'll come on Thursday, I'm sure of it."

"Sure, just don't get your hopes up, okay?"

Ivy knew, what she meant. Sometimes, people would come and take an interest in the kids. Mostly the people donating to the orphanage. They became the cause of the month, but little by little, the visits got less and less frequent, breaking the heart of any kid, who had become attached. Draco wasn't like that though, he wasn't fickle, she could tell.

…

"So, what do you need from me?" Apollo asked, when they sat down at the dining table. Almost everyone was present – Percy, Annabeth, Frank, Piper, Reyna, Hazel, Calypso, Hunk Muffin, Jason, Draco, Hermione, Nico, and the lovely Rachel Dare. Only ones missing were his own son, Will and that Harry-guy.

"Well, uh – Zeus still hasn't woken up." Percy started awkwardly. "And we have no idea, what to do with him once he does. He probably isn't going to be too happy about –"

"I have an idea." Jason interrupted, making the others raise their eyebrows. "I was thinking, about that memory-thing, Juno did to Percy and I. Maybe it would be an idea, to wipe his memory, so that he starts with an open mind. Then, when he reaches some kind of understanding of humanity, we could give him back his memory, little by little."

Apollo sat, thinking it over. "Actually, that's an awesome idea, little bro!"

Hermione sat, biting her lip. She opened her mouth to speak, but Apollo interrupted her before she could.

"I can't let you do it, Hermione. For one, you're still not up to your full strength, I can tell, secondly, wiping a human mind is easy-peasy. Even if he's mortal now, his brain is storing millennia worth of memories, and even at full strength, you haven't got the juice. Neither have I, honestly." He sighed, slumping in his seat.

"We need water from the river Lethe." Nico butted in. "If it could turn Iapetus into Bob, it can turn Zeus into – whatever name we find for him." He said, making Percy squirm in his seat.

Apollo nodded thoughtfully. "We need to call him something better, than Lester."

"Another thing we need, is for Will" Draco said, carefully. "I'm so close to a cure, maybe you could come with me to the lab after the meeting? I feel like I could really use some assistance from the god of medicine." He admitted.

Apollo's eyes shone with hope. "That sounds great. I would like that, very much."

"Then that's decided" Reyna declared. "Nico will go to the Underworld for water from the Lethe, and Draco and Apollo will go to the lab to look at the cure. The rest of us will brainstorm for an identity and a backstory for Zeus."

"Actually, I would like to go with Nico to the Underworld" Hermione pointed out.

Reyna made a face, but nodded anyways "Fine. Just try, not to kill the dead with your lovey-dovey fluff."


	7. Chapter 7

"So, tell me what you've been up to." Apollo requested.

Draco sighed. "I've found a cure, finally. It took a while, since my aunt liked to put her own signature twist on everything. Now I just need to find a binding agent, to make it work on a demigod."

Apollo nodded. Calypso studied him as the sun god was brooding – carefree as he usually was, it was easy to forget, that he was also god of the medical arts.

"There is an island, called Delos – _my_ sacred island actually" Calypso rolled her eyes. So much for serious god of medicine, now he was back to bragging again.

"Anyway, there is a certain golden flower, that only grows on that island, but I found out a couple of years ago, that my children managed to grow some, around their cabin at Camp Halfblood. If you used some of that, I'm certain it would work."

Draco broke into a huge grin. "Thanks"

"You'll still need one of my kids to pick it. You should ask if Kayla is still around – if she is, you should go with her to the camp, she'll be happy to help, especially if it's for her brother."

Draco nodded. "We'll fix him, I promise."

"Be careful about making promises you might not be able to keep, kiddo. I talk from experience."

"Um, I'll do my best, then."

"That's better." Apollo smiled melancholically. "I miss him, though."

"Yeah, I imagine it must be hard, when you love your son." Draco said.

"Don't all fathers love their kids?"

"Some fathers have kids, others have heirs." Draco shrugged and left.

Apollo looked at his retreating back with a frown. He turned to look at Calypso, who shook her head. Over the past weeks, she and Draco had become somewhat close. Even if he didn't share much, she understood some parts of him, especially the things he didn't like to talk about.

…

Draco took a deep breath as he went outside. He was happy for Will and Apollo, he really was. The only problem was, that he kept thinking about his own father. It hadn't been easy, growing up as the Malfoy heir. Being the only heir to both the House of Malfoy and the House of Black, came with a lot of expectations, which was instilled in him from a young age.

Where other wizard dads might have spent time with their sons, flying on broomsticks, he studied genealogy, politics and economy. He had an instructor to teach him how to fly. When he was younger, he had thought his father pushed him because he loved him and just wanted him to live up to his potential. These days, he knew better – he was nothing more than a legacy, and more importantly, he was part of the image. A perfect man, must have a perfect son. All the pressure wasn't to make him do well, it was to make him flawless, as to not disappoint his father, lest he put him in a bad light.

At least, he wasn't just the heir to his mother – to her, he was her child, first and foremost.

…

Hermione was nervous as she stood with Nico outside the throne room in the Underworld. She hadn't seen the place for more than five years, and it seemed, that nothing had changed. Still the same golden courtyard, the same jewel-flowers and the same tempting orchard. She held her breath as Nico knocked on the door. He hadn't even taken his hand down, before the doors opened on their own.

When they reached the thrones, Hermione hesitated, but Hades stood up and walked to embrace her, passing his own son, who rolled his eyes.

"My, how you've grown" Persephone gushed from her own golden seat. The goddess rushed over to embrace the young demigod witch too. "You are so beautiful darling! But we need to do something about that hair." She continued, making Hermione laugh and Nico roll his eyes.

Hades gave his son a knowing smile and a raised eyebrow. Nico blushed and cleared his throat, interrupting Persephone's fussing over Hermione.

"Father, _lovely_ as it is to see you, we do come on an errand." He pointed out.

Persephone pouted. "Fine." She huffed and conjured a small vial "Just use a few drops of this elixir on your hair, every time you wash it, and get that brute of a boyfriend to bring you down here for some girl talk soon, okay?"

"Now, what do you need, son?" Hades asked

"We need water from the river, Lethe."

Hades raised an eyebrow. "Do I want to know, what you need it for?"

"Probably not" Nico said, bluntly.

Hades sighed and nodded "You know, where it is."

Nico smirked, and grabbed Hermione's hand. He shadow travelled directly to the bank of the river, leaving Hades and Persephone smiling in the throne room. The two youths had come a long way since the beginning.

…

" _Can we go to the Underworld again soon?" Hermione asked Nico. The two had just finished a smaller diplomatic mission with vampires. Apparently some of them were tired of being undead and wanted to go to the Underworld. They had wanted immunity for the crimes they committed as vampires, and only to be judged by the sins they committed in their mortal lives. Hades wasn't up for a bargain though, and Nico and Hermione had to flee. Thank the gods for shadow travel, or else they wouldn't have made it._

" _Why on earth would you want to go there?" Nico asked, half collapsed against a tree. It was winter by now, and he pulled his aviator jacket closer._

" _It's just, that I would like to see it again." She told him, hissing in pain as she snuggled into her own coat._

" _You got hurt?" He asked worriedly. "Just a bit. I guess I'm not such a good fighter. One of them got a punch in – my ribs hurt a little, but I don't think they're broken or anything._

" _You have to learn how to fight. I think my father wouldn't like it if he knew you couldn't" Nico frowned._

" _And where do you suggest I learn that? I don't know if you've noticed, but my school isn't that into physical education."_

" _Well, I know I have to be the one to teach you. I just don't know how, I mean – you're a girl." He looked at her._

" _Excuse me?" She asked, outraged_

" _I can't hit a girl. It wouldn't be right." Nico defended._

" _Do you think a monster would care if I were a girl or a boy? Do you think that bad guys generally care? Because, I can tell you right away, that they don't. If anything, they're going to come after me first, because they assume that I'm the easier prey, so I need to be able to defend myself." She ranted._

 _Nico rolled his eyes "I'm just worried, that I might hurt you. It's just the way I was raised – I grew up in the 40's in Italy. A girl is someone to protect, someone to stay at home, someone who's fragile-"_

 _He was interrupted by a punch in the nose_

" _Who's fragile now?" She tried sneering at him, but an involuntary giggle came out, at his surprised expression. Soon they were both in fits of laughter, Nico holding his nose and Hermione clutching her side._


End file.
